Now that you have digested the Eastern Conference sleeper picks for your upcoming NBA fantasy draft we present you now with our Western Conference sleeper picks. The deeply talented Western Conference offers a plethora of fantasy options as the teams are so much more reliant on their benches than their counterparts in the East.
With the deep rosters there are many a fantasy nugget to be mined. The popular choices thus far are Darren Collison in Sacramento, Andrew Wiggins in Minnesota and Harrison Barnes from Golden State. News flash folks, these guys aren’t sleeper picks, fantasy general managers expect these guys to have solid years. Now here is a few guys who are a little more removed from the limelight and who are flying under the fantasy radar.
First stop is in Houston where we identify Terrence Jones as a top rated sleeper pickup. Jones will be the Rockets starting power forward and he figures to see plenty of action and scoring opportunities as teams focus more so on James Harden and Dwight Howard. Last season Jones averaged 12.1 ppg and 6.9 rpg; however, during January he showed flashes of his true value as he averaged 15.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.4 apg and 1.4 blocks per game while contributing over 33 minutes a night.
Staying in Houston we see that Patrick Beverley is poised for a breakout season. with little competition for minutes at the point guard spot, Beverley will surely see an increase to his playing time as well as his offensive responsibilities this season. I definitely see Beverley improving on last year’s stat line and he is definitely worth a consideration in the latter rounds of your draft.
Next stop is in Los Angeles where the Lakers starting center Jordan Hill could be a real fantasy bright spot for the Lakers. Hill hasn’t yet benefited from starter-like minutes, but all that could change this season. Take Hill's numbers from last year and project them over 36 minutes a night and his adjusted stat line looks like 16.7 ppg and 12.8 rpg. Look to target Hill as a late round sleepers or even as a potential waiver pickup.
Staying in the Bay Area we take a look at an unsung hero from last season's playoffs and focus in on the Warriors Draymond Green. Green built upon a solid second half of last year as he became a real contributor in the playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Green could fit in with the Warriors as a stretch four or as a small forward capable of spacing the floor and scoring inside. In deep leagues Green has value in the late rounds. If your league isn't as deep, keep an eye on his minutes as the season progresses to get a feel for how Steve Kerr will use the third-year player and if he's getting run consider using a waiver wire pickup on him.